A Sleepy Ruby
by aajjww121
Summary: Ruby's usually the energetic sort, but sometimes even she can get run down. Reviews welcome.
1. In Which a Cat Gets Trapped

It was a quiet evening for once in the Team RWBY dorm room. Weiss was seated at her desk, her pen scratching furiously as she revised a paper due later that week, Yang had her tools out, cleaning Ember Cecilia in one corner of the room, and Blake sat in her bed, reading a book that she'd picked up earlier that week. Ruby was conspicuously absent, having an extra class to help make up some of her two skipped years.

The only sounds were the scratching of Weiss' pen, the flip of Blake turning a page, and the occasional thump as Yang set down a part to pick up another. The three of them enjoyed the peace and quiet they so rarely got, since Ruby tended to act as a catalyst for their more energetic activities. Still, they knew it wouldn't last, and as the door lock clicked open, they unconsciously braced for Ruby's energetic greeting.

The familiar sound never came as Ruby tiredly stepped through the door, her eyes already half closed. Without a word she silently made her way over the closet and started changing into her pajamas, leaving the door wide open.

All three of the older girls silently turned to look at their clearly exhausted leader, concern registering on all their faces. Ruby had been under more stress than usual lately, between her additional classes and the upcoming exams, and it seemed to finally be taking its toll. With a silent glance between them, Yang got up from her weapon cleaning and closed the door before walking over to Ruby, intending to see her safely to bed.

Ruby finished changing before Yang arrived and turned, tired eyes glancing about the room. Without a word to Yang she pushed past her and made a beeline for Blake, stopping by the side of her bed. Blake looked up at her leader with no small amount of concern, and started asking her if everything was alright. "Ru-"

She was cut off as Ruby crawled onto her bed and curled up against her side, gently head-butting her way under the Faunus' arm. Yang and Weiss looked on with bemusement as the dark haired girl shot them a bewildered look, unsure how to respond. She made to rouse the younger girl but stopped, listening to the quiet rumbling that was Ruby's snores. With a sigh, she relented and turned back to her book, ignoring the quiet giggles coming from the other two. She counted it as a blessing that she'd already changed into her nightclothes.


	2. In Which Weiss Marches to Her Doom

Blake stretched as the morning sun grazed her eyes, coaxing her into wakefulness. With a groan she rolled over and glanced at the clock beside her bed, her eyes going wide when it read past nine. For a moment she panicked, worried that she'd end up late to her classes, before remembering that today was Saturday. With a sigh she sat up and looked around, noting that Ruby was still curled up next to her and hoping she hadn't woken her.

After listening for several moments and hearing no change in Ruby's snores, Blake softly got up and got dressed. Weiss and Yang had apparently already gone to breakfast, and with one last look back at her still sleeping leader, Blake quietly followed.

She found her two teammates sharing a table with JNPR as usual. After grabbing herself some pancakes she joined them, squeezing between Nora and Yang.

"So, how was your bunkmate this morning?" Yang asked, giving her a cheeky grin.

"Still asleep," Blake replied, swatting Nora's hand away from her juice. "And I somehow doubt she'll appreciate waking in someone else's bed."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ruby's plenty used to waking up in beds besides her own," Yang pointed out. "She loves crawling into mine on cold nights."

The others stared at her for a moment while she processed what she'd just said. "Wait, no, I phrased that wrong, she tends to go for thin sheets so the winter months are hard on her and she likes being warm. And I _am_ the Dragon."

"…well, as adorable as that is, we do need to do something about how exhausted she's been," Weiss interjects, trying to change the subject. "She's barely staying awake through her classes, she's started napping during combat practice, and you saw how she looked when she got back last night. At this rate, she's going to end up a zombie like Blake did."

Blake scowls at her, unhappy about being reminded of that. "While I agree, could we please keep my shortcomings out of this? And I don't see how we can help, her workload is massive."

"Perhaps you could ask her," Pyrrha suggests, nodding towards where a still sleepy looking Ruby was entering the mess hall. She poured herself a cup of coffee before making her way over to them, not noticing the odd looks the other gave her.

"Coffee? Without sugar? You!?" Weiss asked, flummoxed.

Ruby just gave her a tired look before taking a sip from her mug, making a face at the taste of her black coffee. She turned to Blake. "Sorry for stealing your bed," she mumbled, "I was really tired last night."

"It's fine, Ruby. You seemed exhausted," Blake answered, frowning at her. "In fact, you still look exhausted. Are you sure you shouldn't go back to bed?"

"Can't," Ruby replied, "I've got two papers I need to get done by Monday, and I need coffee to do that." With that, she gulped down the rest of her coffee and got up. "I should go get started. I hope you weren't too uncomfortable in my bed, Blake." With that she walked off, refilling her coffee before heading back to the dorm.

"…She doesn't even know that she spent the whole night using you as a teddy bear," Weiss observed, trying to hold back a chuckle. "That's… rather cute."

"Yeah, but definitely not healthy. She needs to sleep," Yang pointed out. "Weiss, if you help her with her papers, maybe she'll be able to get some rest?"

Weiss gave her an appraising look, realized that she was serious and in "Mama Yang" mode, and sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine, I'll help the dolt. But you owe me for this," she promised before heading off after Ruby.

"Love you too, Ice Queen!" Yang called at her retreating back. Blake punched her in the shoulder.


	3. Is Which the Schnee Helps Study

The sight that greeted Weiss when she entered the dorm was one that she was still becoming used to. Ruby sat at her desk, a look of intense concentration on her face as the pen in her grip blurred across the paper in front of her. Weiss still had trouble believing that Ruby had fine enough control of her semblance to use it like this without the pen or paper combusting. She supposed that was why Ruby had been advanced two years.

She walked up to Ruby and tapped her shoulder. "So, do you need any help?"

Ruby looked up at her. "Are… you offering to help me study?" she asked, confused.

"Yes. Yang is of the opinion that if you get your work done, you can then go back to bed, and she insisted that I help. So, do you need any help?"

"Um, yeah, I guess. I mean, sure, pull over a chair."

Weiss did so, sitting next to Ruby. They spent the next hour pouring over school books and taking down notes, working until Ruby's exhaustion started to get the better of her again.

Weiss glanced over as Ruby's pen slowed, noting that her eyes were starting to close. With a sigh she stood and put her hand on her shoulder. "Alright, Ruby, you obviously didn't get enough sleep last night. Let's get you to bed."

"But we're not done," Ruby protested, stifling a yawn. "I haven't even finished one of my assignments.

Weiss looked over the work they'd done, putting the pieces together mentally. "You have one paper at least half finished, and you can finish it after you take a nap. You don't need to be in this big of a rush. Now come on and go to bed."

Ruby stared at the paper in front of her and sighed, rubbing at her eyes. "Fine, I'll go back to bed." She stood and stretched, then turned to Weiss. "You better wake me up in an hour, though."

"I assure you, I will. It wouldn't due for your grades to start suffering," she said sweetly as she moved next to the bunk, ready to help her leader climb in.

Ruby just sighed again before moving forward and slumping into Weiss bed, pulling the heiress' blankets up to her chest. Weiss stared at her a moment.

"…that's my bed, you dolt," she muttered under her breath before leaning over her and pulling the blankets up properly. She was surprised to hear Ruby already snoring, having apparently fallen asleep. She smiled at the now peaceful look on Ruby's face before going to pull away.

She was stopped by the feel of a hand gripping her own. Looking down, she realized that the younger girl had grabbed her, despite the fact that she was asleep. "Really, Ruby?" she muttered before trying to slip her hand free.

Ruby responded to this by tightening her grip and pulling, dragging Weiss into the bed. With a soft whumpf Weiss found herself being wrapped into a hug as Ruby buried her face in her hair. The continuing snores baffled her, as it meant that Ruby had done this while asleep.

She briefly tried to escape, but every wiggle was met with a whine and a tighter embrace. Eventually she surrendered and just lay there, listening to the soft rumble of Ruby's snores. The sound was soothing, and she found her eyes growing heavier and heavier, until she joined Ruby in slumber.


	4. In Which Ruby Feels an Icy Touch

Weiss tried to ignore the finger poking her in the face. The bed was soft, and that soothing sound was still rumbling away behind her. Unfortunately, whoever had the finger was being rather insistent, and she was soon forced to open her eyes and see who it belonged it.

Yang grinned down at her, her face annoyingly close. "Hello there, sleeping beauty," she said quietly, "enjoying yourself?"

Weiss scowled at her before propping herself up on an elbow, noting that Ruby no longer held her in a hug. "As a matter of fact, yes. Until someone started poking me."

"Well, when I asked you to help my sister study, I didn't mean _study_."

"That is lewd and not at all what happened," Weiss refuted, slowly crawling out of bed and hoping she wouldn't wake Ruby. She spent a moment looking back at the younger girl, making sure she hadn't woken her, before turning back to Yang. "She held me hostage."

"Sure she did. And I'm a Faunus," Yang quips, unconvinced.

"Oh? Is that why you never let anyone touch your hair?" Weiss retorts, reaching out to run her fingers through Yang's hair. She's unsurprised when Yang swats her hand away. "I really couldn't get away without waking her."

"…fine, I guess I believe you. Now, shouldn't you wake her and get back to 'studying?'"

"Yes, yes, I'll get right to that," Weiss replies before turning to Ruby and shaking her shoulder lightly. "Wake up, dolt."

Ruby swats at her sleepily, pulling the blankets close to her chest. "Five more minutes…" she mumbles, refusing to open her eyes. Weiss sighs and walks around behind her, rubbing her hands together. With an evil gleam in her eye she places both hands down the back of Ruby's shirt.

Ruby squeals and scrambles out of bed. "Cold, cold, cold, cold... Yang, did you drop an ice cube down my back!?" she asks, grabbing her sister's shirt and looking up at her with big, sad, betrayed looking eyes. Yang just points over at Weiss as the heiress wipes frost off her fingers.

With a blur Ruby was giving Weiss the same treatment, carefully avoiding grabbing her hands. "Why did you do that to me Weiss!?"

"You told me to wake you up to go back to studying, so I did," Weiss answers coolly, putting her still-cold hands on Ruby's cheeks. Ruby squeals and backs up, and Weiss takes the opportunity to sit down at the desk. "Now, are you going to come study or not?"

Ruby eyes her suspiciously before sitting down. "You keep your cold hands to yourself."

Neither notice as Yang quietly slips out, heading to join Blake at the library. She had her own papers to write.


	5. In Which the Dragon is Trapped

Ruby stretched as she walked into the dorm. Tests were over, Weiss' help had allowed her to turn her papers in on time, and Yang was still breathing down her neck about how much sleep she was getting. Ruby huffed at the thought. She hadn't fallen asleep during class or anything, and her naps had been unusually restful lately. She still felt sorry for stealing Weiss' and Blake's bunks, but she had to admit they were comfortable. Maybe she needed to start washing her sheets with theirs.

She flopped down into a chair and rested her head in her hands, letting her eyes drift closed. The girls were all in the library, researching a paper they had due next week. Due to her make-up classes Ruby didn't have that assignment, but she'd already made a note to read theirs when she got a chance. No point in not learning what her team was learning.

She struggled to suppress a yawn as she felt her eyes growing heavier. She hadn't gotten as much sleep as she'd wanted to last night, since she'd been studying for her exams. She supposed Yang would get upset if she found out she hadn't gotten enough sleep, but if she took a nap right here….

Ruby let out a yawn as she laid her head down on her arms and drifted off to sleep.

"It's just common sense, Blake. You can't mix two distinctly different types of dust and not expect a reaction," Weiss pointed out.

"I'm sorry my knowledge of dust is limited to which ones I can mix to make the biggest bomb," Blake huffed, her ears flattening under her bow. "The White Fang weren't exactly interested in the other intricacies of dust."

Weiss couldn't help but glance around the corridor they were walking through for anyone who could be listening before she responded. "…then I'll consider that a failure of the White Fang's leadership and do everything I can to correct it in your case," she responded haughtily.

Yang rolled her eyes, following close behind the pair. Weiss had been walking on eggshells about Blake's past since the faunus had revealed it to them, and Yang found their interactions more than a little funny. Especially since she could tease them about it.

"You know Blake can hear anyone in earshot, don't you Weiss?" Yang asked.

She was satisfied when Weiss huffed indignantly. "I know that," Weiss stated defensively, crossing her arms over her chest.

Yang chuckled quietly at the sight. She always found it rather cute when Weiss did that.

"You know you can talk about the White Fang with me without issue, right?" Blake asked quietly, keeping her expression calm. "I know you have questions."

"…it's rude to pry about other people's pasts," Weiss replied sternly, "and truthfully, I'm still not entirely comfortable hearing about it. The White Fang and my family have far too much history."

"Agreed," Blake said simply.

Yang smiled at the backs of the two of them as they arrived at their dorm and Weiss pushed the door open. "Aww, a bonding moment," she said, draping herself on the other's shoulders. "I'm so proud of you."

Weiss turned to glare at her, recognizing that tone as the one she used when teasing her "adorable baby sister," as Yang put it. "Yang Xiao Long, I will not have you treating me… like…" Weiss leaned into the room, her eyes fixed upon Ruby sleeping at the desk.

All three of them entered the room quietly to stare at their leader snoozing adorably in their room, her head resting on her arms. With a series of silent gestures they retreated to the far corner to quietly converse.

"Should we wake her?" Blake asked.

Yang shook her head. "I know she didn't sleep much last night. She needs the rest."

"Sleeping like that can't be good for her posture," Weiss pointed out, "and she's still dressed."

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Yang asked.

"…you're going to have to get her into bed," Weiss replied.

"Why me?"

"You're her sister," Weiss replied indignantly, "…and I can't lift her into her bunk."

Yang sighed in resignation. "Okay, you've got me there, Ice Queen," she said before walking over to Ruby. She tenderly put her arms around the younger girl and lifted her out of her chair, trying not to wake her. She was surprised when Ruby wrapped her arms around her neck and buried her face in her hair, apparently without waking.

Yang turned to find the other two giggling, Weiss trying to hide her smile behind her hand while Blake wore her grin proudly. She shot the both of them a glare before carrying Ruby to her bunk and trying to set her in it. "C'mon, little flower, time to go to bed," she coaxed quietly when Ruby refused to let go, speaking so softly not even Blake could make out the words. Ruby responded by whining pitifully and tightening her grip around Yang, burying her face deeper into her hair.

With another sigh Yang turned around and hopped into her own bunk, lying down with Ruby on top of her. Ignoring the other two, she sang a soft lullaby and stroked Ruby's hair, eventually joining her in quiet slumber.


	6. In which Ruby sees a cute sight

Yang woke slowly, relishing the familiar weight on her chest. Memories of cold nights spent together filled her mind as she breathed the welcome scent of Ruby's favorite shampoo. The girl was still snuggled close to the blond, her red cloak draped over the both of them like a blanket of autumn leaves. Yang chuckled. She was certainly feeling poetic this morning.

She glanced down at the clock, noting that they didn't need to get up for another half hour. She was fine to lay there and pull Ruby a bit closer, but as soon as she managed to rouse the younger girl she was going to take a shower. Sleeping in her clothes was _not_ comfortable. While she waited she quietly hummed an old nursery rhyme she used to lull Ruby to sleep with.

She continued humming even when Blake stood up and gave her a half-asleep look of amusement before walking into the bathroom. Yang was surprised to see her up this early, usually the kitty cat slept in later than even she did. She was still puzzling over it when the alarm went off and Ruby opened her eyes slowly, rolling out of bed with a yawn.

Yang sighed. She'd liked having Ruby there.

* * *

Ruby stretched as she left her make-up class. She'd slept well last night, but sitting down for so much of the day always made her back stiff and her head want a soft pillow. With a yawn she turned towards the dorms, intent on getting some homework done before she went to bed.

She was surprised at the sight that greeted her when she opened the door. All three of her teammates were sprawled out in Weiss' bed, fully clothed and snoring. With a chuckle she took out her scroll and took a picture before sitting down and starting on her homework.

Over an hour later she closed her books, satisfied with her progress. Yawning, she glanced over at the three crammed into Weiss' bed and noticed that there was enough room between Weiss and the edge of the bed for her crawl into. After a moment's deliberation, she changed into her pajamas and crawled into the spot, snuggling close to the heiress.

The other three girls smirked silently. They're plan to get Ruby to cuddle with them worked, but they were realizing it had two drawbacks: Only one person could actually cuddle close to Ruby, and the other two couldn't leave without disturbing her. Sighing quietly, Yang pulled Blake close and resolved to make do.

* * *

All four girls got up at about the same time the next morning, mostly because Ruby getting out of bed woke Weiss, who promptly elbowed Blake in the side, who then pushed Yang out of the bed. Ruby stared at the other members of her team, amazed at how badly this morning was starting for them.

With a sigh she walked around the bed and helped Yang back up. "You girls are gonna have to explain why you all decided to sleep together."

"Yeah, yeah," Yang responded, stomping towards the bathroom.

Ruby waited until everyone had completed their morning routines before pressing the issue. "So, why exactly did you all sleep in the same bed?"

"…we all wanted to cuddle with you," Yang quietly replied for the group as they all made a point of not meeting Ruby's gaze.

Ruby stared at them. "You all wanted to cuddle with me?" she asked, incredulous.

"You're very comfortable to sleep with," Blake said in explanation.

Ruby's face flushed red. "I… I'm comfortable to sleep with!?"

Weiss nodded, not trusting herself to say anything.

"…Well, then we're just going to have to do something about this then, aren't we?" Ruby said, slightly flustered.


	7. In Which Yang Acts Motherly

Ruby checked the schedule she and the girls had drawn up, noting that today was marked in blue. She was supposed to cuddle with Weiss today. Nodding tiredly at it, she glanced around the room, looking for the heiress. Surprisingly, she was nowhere to be found, so she turned from her schoolwork to look at her sister.

"Yang, do you know where Weiss is?" she asked, struggling to hold back a yawn.

"Nope, can't say I do. Why, you getting sleepy?" the blonde replied from her bed, where she was reading a book. "Cause, and I'm just bringing this up as a possibility, I am available," she offered with a cheeky grin.

Ruby leveled a sleepy glare at her. "Today is a Weiss day, Yang. You agreed to the schedule, you have to stick to it."

"Hey, can't blame a girl for tryin'."

"I can," Blake commented dryly from her own bunk. "No co-opting the schedule."

"You just say that cause you get her two days from now while I gotta wait until Monday," Yang pouted. "Stupid sister-stealing cat."

Blake sighed. "I'm not gonna argue with you just because you're bored."

"Aw, what, afraid you lose? Poor little scaredy cat."

Blake's eyebrow twitched. "Did you just call me a scaredy cat?"

Yang grinned. "Yes, because you are."

"Why you little…." Blake hopped out of bed, grabbed her pillow, and proceeded to try and smother Yang.

Ruby turned away as Yang struggled against Blake, leaving them to their fun. Yawning, she stood and made her way out of the room, deciding to go and find Weiss. Maybe she could coax her into coming to bed.

She made her way down to the common room, gazing about it blearily. She couldn't see Weiss sitting in any of the armchairs strewn about the room, but some faced away from her, and Weiss was short enough to not be visible if she was sitting in one. She made her way around the room checking them.

She finally found her sitting in a chair facing the fireplace, book in hand. Moving quietly, Ruby stalked over and pulled Weiss out of the chair suddenly, sitting where she had been and pulling her back into her lap.

With a happy sigh Ruby settled her head onto the startled heiress' shoulder, holding her about the waist.

"Wha-? Ruby? What're you-!?" Weiss started to ask before Ruby's eyes drifted close and she fell asleep.

* * *

Weiss couldn't believe this! Here she was, trying to read the book Blake had given her, and Ruby had just stolen her spot and was now using her as combination teddy bear and head rest. She groaned as she felt Ruby start snoring. Between the heat of the fire and Ruby cuddling her so close, she doubted she'd be awake long enough to finish her chapter. With a sigh she tucked a bookmark to hold her spot and relaxed against Ruby.

"Darn it, you dolt. You could have just asked me to come to bed with you. We better not get seen out here," she grumbled, letting the sound of Ruby's snores lull her slowly to sleep. "Stupid comfortable dolt with your stupid comforting snores."

She yawned as her eyes started to drift shut, still complaining. "Could've been in a nice, comfortable bed, but no, you had to make me sleep here, being held like a teddy bear and with a nice… warm… fire…." She drifted off to sleep, snuggling closer to Ruby.

* * *

Weiss awoke to the sound of sniggering, in a voice she knew all too well. With a groan of annoyance she cracked her eyes open, unsurprised at the familiar grin that greeted her.

"Hey, the teddy bear awakes!" Yang said jovially, tucking her scroll behind her back. "And how's the cuddle bear this morning?"

Weiss growled quietly at her, not wanting to wake the girl still holding her. She could still feel Ruby's snores trying to lull her back to sleep, and she was very tempted to let her, just as soon as Yang shut up.

"Well, that sounded mean. I guess you aren't happy about me waking you for class. Ah well, I suppose Professor Port won't mind you being late for once in your life," Yang commented dryly.

Weiss groaned again. Of course she was late getting up, she usually relied on her alarm to wake her, and she suspected that cuddling with Ruby made her sleep deeper. With a tired sigh she tried to rise, only to find that Ruby wouldn't let her go.

She settled a glare at the blonde. "…If I end up late because of this, so does Ruby."

Yang frowned at her, and Weiss knew from the look on her face that she'd won. Yang would never let her precious baby sister end up late to class if she could prevent it. Yang's expression shifted to one of amusement as she reached down and pulled Ruby out of the chair, dragging Weiss with her. Ruby whimpered in protest pitifully, but Weiss managed to slip out from between her arms.

She breathed a sigh of relief as Yang slung Ruby up onto her back, Ruby wrapping her arms around the blonde and nestling her face into the mass of hair. Weiss stretched as Yang settled Ruby into place, making sure she wouldn't fall off. Yang grinned as Weiss subtly sniffed at herself.

"You know, I made sure to wake you early enough for you to get in a shower, if you hurry."

Weiss gave Yang a dubious look. She doubted the blonde had done that for Weiss' sake.

Yang smiled cheekily at her. "And, of course, so can Ruby."

Weiss glared at her. "You're mothering her."

"Of course I am!" Yang said cheerfully. Weiss just gave her a disapproving look.

"You know that sooner or later she'll have to learn to take care of herself."

"Yeah, but until she does, there's nothing wrong with me taking good care of her."

"You're making her dependent on you," Weiss commented dryly as she led the way back to the dorm. "The longer you keep this up, the harder it will be later."

"…I know," Yang responded quietly, surprising the heiress with how sad she sounded. "I know."

Weiss kept quiet the rest of the way back to the dorm, mulling over her thoughts.

 **Sorry about the late update, haven't been feeling like writing.**


	8. In Which Leaders Sleep

Blake hummed contentedly, stroking the back of Ruby's head as the younger girl settled down for the night. She let out a soft sigh as Ruby started snoring quietly, turning back to Weiss to continue their conversation. "As I was saying, the White Fang is just one of a number of Faunus Rights groups. The only reason they're in the news so much is because of how violent they are, while the media, especially that of Atlas, pushes the others under the rug or pretends they don't exist. The result is people thinking the White Fang represent the entirety of the Faunus community, when they actually represent a tiny, outspoken, and very violent portion of it."

Weiss nodded slowly, mulling over what Blake had said. She'd been making a concerted effort to learn more about her friend's heritage, and had been surprised at some of the things Blake had taught her. "So, most of the Faunus don't support the White Fang, then?"

"…well, they do get noticed by the human media, which is more than most faunus groups do, so there is some support for them among the common populace. That being said, if a faunus needs help, it's not the White Fang they call," Blake said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "The White Fang doesn't help people, at least, not anymore."

"…Tell me about these other groups," Weiss said after a moment.

"Well, there's the Brown Tail Aid Corps. They provide emergency disaster relief to remote faunus communities, and they're one of the largest groups. Private aircraft for transporting supplies, trained disaster response teams, stockpiles of emergency goods at dozens of pre-established locations, the full works. They're actually the second largest disaster relief organization on the planet."

Weiss listened carefully as Blake continued telling her about the various political and aid groups the faunus relied on. Yang had fallen asleep an hour ago, but Ruby had stayed up late to work on her copious amounts of schoolwork while Weiss and Blake talked.

"…and then of course there's Patch."

"What about Patch?" Weiss asked, curious she would bring it up.

"Well, back during the Faunus War, most of the kingdoms cast a poor gaze on their faunus citizens. Many of the injustices we face now actually have their roots from that time period. Patch is different. The island wasn't part of Vale then, it was a small independent settlement, and so they didn't share Vale's views on the faunus. As a result, Patch is actually quite famous for being very accepting of faunus, regardless of their past, so long as they abide by their laws. That's probably why Ruby and Yang were so accepting of my, ah, heritage," Blake explained. She ran her fingers through Ruby's hair, earning a happy murmur from the sleeping girl and smiling slightly. "I was honestly expecting her to read me the riot act when you guys caught up to me."

Weiss sighed. "She probably just thought you had panicked and fled out of sheer terror of our potential reactions, and she didn't want to scare you further. She can be surprisingly insightful sometimes."

Blake just nodded, continuing to run her fingers through Ruby's hair. Weiss leaned back in her bed, pulling her blankets close. "Goodnight, Blake. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, Weiss," Blake replied quietly as Weiss drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Ruby groaned as she felt Blake getting up, grabbing her tight around the waist to try and keep her from moving. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she also wanted Blake to not leave. She whined as Blake pried her hands loose.

"Ruby, I need to use the restroom."

With a sigh of defeat Ruby let her go and buried herself in Blake's blankets, trying to absorb as much of the left-over warmth as she could. It didn't last long enough for her liking, and soon she was crawling out of bed, yawning. She gave a half-asleep greeting to Weiss as she walked past and started laying out her clothes.

* * *

Ruby munched happily on a piece of toast as Yang and Weiss bickered, content to let them have it out. Blake sat between her and them, effectively shielding her from the argument.

She noticed Jaune making his way into the dining hall, rubbing sleep from his tired eyes. She waved him over after he picked up a bowl of cereal, offering him the seat beside her. He sat down and poked at the bowl in front of him, not really eating.

"You alright, Jaune? You don't look so good," Ruby said as kindly as she could, noting the shadows under Jaune's eyes.

"Huh? Oh, uh, I was up all night studying for the makeup test for Prof. Ooblek's class," Jaune said with a yawn, looking at her blearily.

"But we haven't even gotten our test results yet," Ruby protested, confused.

Jaune just gave her a tired look as his eyes threatened to close and his head dipped forward before he straightened up with a start.

"…Jaune, eat your cereal, then I'm taking you to bed," Ruby ordered the older boy. He just nodded in response while Ruby gave Blake an exasperated look.

* * *

Jaune yawned hugely as Ruby guided him through the corridor, heading for his dorm room. Jaune had almost fallen flat on his face twice on the way from the dining hall, so Ruby had taken the preventative measure of having his arm over her shoulder. She sighed in relief as they arrived at the door.

"Okay, Jaune, now you just need to let us in, and you can get some rest."

Jaune patted at his pockets awkwardly for a moment before realization struck him. "…I forgot it."

"Seriously?" Ruby asked dryly, unamused. At Jaune's nod she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I guess I'll call Pyrrha to come unlock it, then."

"Uh, that'd take a while. All three of them went into town early."

"…then you can sleep on my bed, I guess," Ruby offered, turning around and opening the door to her team's dorm. "It's a bit of a climb, though."

Jaune followed her and stared at the absurd arrangement of beds. "…wow, that's, uh…. Which one's your's?"

Ruby nodded towards hers, then glanced back at Jaune. "Wait. How much do you weigh?"

"Uh…."

Ruby grabbed him and lifted, ignoring his surprised squeak. "Hmm… you should be fine. You're surprisingly light for a guy your height."

"Uh, yeah, thanks," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "So, do you have a ladder, or do I just…."

Ruby sat him down, then pointed at the bed. "Just climb into it," she snapped, feeling her lack of sleep from the night before. She'd stayed up way too late.

"Y-yes ma'am," Jaune replied, awkwardly trying to jump up and crawl into it.

After watching him struggle for a couple minutes, Ruby relented and hopped up onto the bed to pull him the rest of the way up. "You need to work on your gymnastics."

"Please don't tell Pyrrha that. I don't think I'd survive her exercises," Jaune pleaded.

"…fine, but only if you let me cuddle you."

"…wah?"

"I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night, so I was going to take a nap, but you're here, so I'm going to cuddle you," Ruby said matter-of-factly.

"…alright," Jaune said, finding her reasoning perfectly sound.

The lay down, Jaune pulling Ruby into a hug as the younger girl curled against his chest.

"…Yang isn't gonna kill me for this, is she?" Jaune asked after a moment.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ruby murmured in response as she drifted off to sleep.

Jaune followed her into slumber soon after, snoring loudly.


End file.
